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I am coming back in 2016, so stay tuned for more works and media. Merry Christmas and Happy New Year!

So a quick post on my latest read..I recently read ‘Finding Church’ by Wayne Jacobson, at lifestream.org. Wayne also has some wonderful free E-books you can download. They have added clearer insight into my walk about simplifying Christianity and inspiring alertness to the true desires Christ has for our lives. If you get a chance have a read over this Christmas break – give me your feedback here to start the conversation.

This is part two of the series.. inspiring influencer on the Christian landscape, amazing that not many know how influential his works truly are!

William Tyndale was a scholar, a theologian and a genius often referred to as the ‘Architect of the English Language’ second only to William Shakespeare. Fluent in eight languages, his translation of the New Testament was the first ever to be printed in English. Yet his work was denounced as heresy by authorities of the Roman Catholic Church and he was burned at the stake. Presenter and writer Melvyn Bragg charts the extraordinary life of a great reformer whose ambition and determination changed history forever.

Its been a while.. so while I get myself organised, enjoy this episode from ABC – Compass Part 1

This guy really made my hairs stand on end.. a true protector of Gods Word!

This two-part program tells the story of one of the most influential men in English history.

William Tyndale was a scholar, a theologian and a genius often referred to as the ‘Architect of the English Language’ second only to William Shakespeare. Fluent in eight languages, his translation of the New Testament was the first ever to be printed in English. Yet his work was denounced as heresy by authorities of the Roman Catholic Church and he was burned at the stake. Presenter and writer Melvyn Bragg charts the extraordinary life of a great reformer whose ambition and determination changed history forever.

This teaching talks about being effective in Gods kingdom, it has less to do with you and more to do with God working in you..

‘Many people have the wrong concept that a man believes in the gospel because he has heard the right teachings, or because he is touched in his emotion. But this is far from the truth. Those who base their acceptance of the Lord on emotional impulses will not last, nor will those who are convinced by persuasion in the mind. There is nothing wrong with using the mind and the emotion, but these things are not enough. A man is not saved through emotion and thought. A sinner falls at the Lord’s feet because the speaker’s spirit has released light through his speaking. As soon as our spirit gushes out, others are struck. This is the reason we need a released spirit to preach the gospel.

A coal miner was greatly used by the Lord in preaching the gospel. He wrote a book entitled Seen and Heard in which he described his experience with the gospel. We were deeply touched by this book. This brother was not an educated or gifted man; he was only an ordinary brother. But his absolute consecration to the Lord became the basis for the Lord to use him greatly. Do you know what was so special about him? He was a broken man. His spirit could be released easily. He started to preach at the age of twenty-three, when he first experienced salvation. In one meeting the word of a preacher kindled a burning desire within him to save souls. He asked to be allowed to speak. After he stood up, he was unable to say anything, even though his heart was burning with fire for lost souls. His tears came down like a torrent. In the end he could only utter one or two sentences. God’s Spirit filled the meeting, and everyone was convicted of his own sin and waywardness. Here was a man who, in spite of his young age, was broken in the outer man. He did not have much to say, yet his spirit was released and men were saved. He led many people to salvation during his lifetime. When we read his biography, we sense that he was a man with a released spirit.

This is the way to preach the gospel. The way to preach the gospel is to release the spirit. When the hardness of the outer man is removed and the outer man is broken, the spirit is released. If the very sight of an unsaved person compels us to do something to save him, it means that our spirit is released.

This is the basic issue. The preaching of the gospel has everything to do with the breaking of the outer man. When the outer man is broken, our spirit will be released and will touch others. It is our spirit that reaches others’ spirits. It is God’s Spirit that touches the darkened spirit of man. When this happens, a man is saved, and no reason can account for this change. However, when the outer man chokes the spirit, God does not have a way through us and the gospel will not be released. We always have to pay attention to the matter of the breaking of the outer man because all of our problems lie in the outer man.

If we, the person, are not dealt with, it is useless for us to memorize more teachings. The only thing that will bring salvation to men is for our spirit to touch others’ spirits. If our spirit touches others’ spirits, they will fall on their face before God. If our spirit is discharged in a strong way, they will have no choice but to prostrate themselves before the Lord.’

This extract is from ‘The Breaking of the Outer Man & the Release of the Spirit’ – Watchman Nee Pg. 32

“Although we Christians are bathed once only, the Bible shows us that foot-washing happens many times. There is only one bathing, but there are many foot-washings. It is like the cleansing: There is only one cleansing by the blood, but there are many cleansings by the water of the ashes. The accomplished redemption of Christ occurred once only. But there are many applications by the Holy Spirit of this accomplished work to us. We are bathed only once, and all our sins are washed. But it takes many foot-washings to wash away all the dirt that we pick up on the wilderness journey. There needs to be only one bathing. But foot-washing is a daily work before the Lord. Foot-washing is a washing that comes about by the Word of God, through the work of the Holy Spirit, and based upon the work of the Lord Jesus. If we have been cleansed once by His blood, we must continue to be washed daily by His blood as well. The Lord Jesus does not have to come and do another work. We are cleansed again and again based on that one work. It is not the ashes that are cleansing us but the water of the ashes. The ashes of the red heifer are the mark of our judgment.

God did not substitute our judgment with the judgment of the Lord Jesus. Rather, He judged us in Christ Jesus. Today man thinks that the Lord Jesus died in place of man; but actually, we died in and with the Lord Jesus. In other words, we are judged in Christ. This alone will cleanse us. My daily cleansing is based on the death of the Lord Jesus.

We know that we have taken a bath, that is, our sins have been cleansed. Once we are saved, we are eternally saved. All the problems are solved. What then should we do when we touch the dirt while living on earth and coming into contact with the world every day? We all cannot be like the thief on the cross, who went straight to Paradise without his feet ever touching the earth after he was cleansed by the blood. Most people are not saved while on their deathbeds. Most still have to take the wilderness journey. Every one of us knows that while we take the wilderness journey, we should not sin. But sinning is a fact with all of us. As a result, our feet get dirty. Many times we are rash and speak words that we should not speak. Many times we have improper thoughts. Thus, we admit that we are defiled. But God has prepared the foot-washing of the Lord Jesus for us. This is not just a sign of His love for us, but a sign of His love to the uttermost. He loved us; hence, He was crucified for us. Now He loves us to the uttermost; hence, He washes our feet. Figuratively speaking, foot-washing is not the love before marriage. Foot-washing is the love after marriage. He causes us to be continually clean before Him. This is why the Lord said that he who has been bathed will be wholly clean once his feet are washed. We thank the Lord that His Son has given us a bath already.”

‘We do not become qualified for God’s work simply by learning some doctrines. The basic problem is our very person. Our person is the means by which we carry on our work. It is a matter of whether or not our person has passed through God’s dealings. If the right doctrines are committed to a wrong person, what can be ministered to the church? The basic lesson for us is to make ourselves usable vessels. In order to make ourselves usable vessels, our outer man must be broken.

God has been working in us all these years. Although we are not very clear about this work ourselves, nevertheless, God has been carrying on the breaking day by day. We have gone through sufferings and difficulties for years. Time after time God’s hand has halted us. We want to go one way, but God does not let us do it. We want to go another way, but God stops us again. If we do not see God’s operation through the working together of all these environments, we have to pray, “God! Open my eyes so that I may see Your hand.” The eyes of the donkey are often sharper than the eyes of a self-proclaimed prophet. The donkey has seen Jehovah’s messenger already, but the self-proclaimed prophet has not seen it yet. The donkey realizes God’s halting hand, but the self-proclaimed prophet is still ignorant of it. We have to realize that breaking is God’s way with us. For years God has been trying to break our outer man. He has been trying to crush us so that we will not remain intact. Unfortunately, many people think that what they lack is doctrines. They wish they can hear more doctrines, pick up more ideas for preaching, and understand more expositions of the Bible. But this is absolutely the wrong way. God’s hand is doing only one thing in us—breaking us. We cannot have our way; we have to take God’s way.

We cannot have our thoughts; we have to take God’s thoughts. We cannot have our decisions; we have to take God’s decisions. God has to break us down completely. The trouble with us is that while God stops us time after time, we blame this and that for the blockage. We are like the prophet who did not see God’s hand; instead, we blame our “donkey” for halting.

Everything that comes our way is meaningful and under God’s sovereign arrangement. Nothing accidental happens to a Christian. Nothing is outside God’s ordering. We have to humble ourselves under God’s sovereign arrangements. May the Lord open our eyes to see that God is arranging everything around us; He has a purpose in us. Through everything He is crushing us. When God grants us the grace one day, we will gladly accept all the arrangements He places in our environment. Our spirit will be released, and we will be able to use our spirit.’ – Watchman Nee

“Acts 2 shows us clearly what resurrection is. It also reveals to us what is the Holy Spirit. Resurrection rids us of the imprisonment of death. The Lord of resurrection transcends all things. What, then, is the Holy Spirit? As the Lord Jesus was raised from the dead, He was exalted by the right hand of God to be seated at God’s right hand. As he arrived at the right hand of the Father, He poured forth the Holy Spirit. And hence we can rightly say that the power of the Holy Spirit is the power of resurrection. The Lord locates resurrection and its power in the Holy Spirit who in turn brings it down to earth. Today we have no way to separate resurrection from the Holy Spirit. Whoever encounters the Holy Spirit encounters resurrection. That which was poured forth from heaven on the day of Pentecost and which the disciples saw and heard is the Holy Spirit. Why was the Holy Spirit given? To testify that the Lord has been resurrected. Does the Holy Spirit testify only in words. No, everyone who has met the Holy Spirit knows that the Lord Jesus has risen.

When the Lord was on earth some had leaned on His bosom, some had received things from His hand, some had touched the border of His garment, some had had their feet washed by Him, some had had their bodies raised by Him, and had had their eyes anointed by Him with spittle and clay. Today, though, he is risen—He is in the Spirit. The Lord whom we now may see is what those who had touched Him or were touched by Him on earth could not see. He whom we see today surpasses the One whom they saw on earth. For today we have met the Lord of resurrection. Those who knew the Lord Jesus on earth might say He advanced in wisdom and stature. They might recall how they met Him when he was only 12 years of age or when He was 30 years old. They might relate His history, who his brothers were, and who were His parents. But the Lord we now meet transcends this being “advanced in wisdom and stature”: He transcends all boundaries; even the last boundary—death—has He also transcended.

How can the church continue on for nearly two thousand years? Because there are always people who see the Lord of resurrection. For almost 20 centuries, here and there are many saints whose inner state is bright because they have seen the Lord inwardly. We acknowledge that we are not as clear towards the outward Christ as were those people who lived in the age of the Four Gospels. We do not see what they saw. We do not know, as they did, the exact appearance of the Lord in the flesh. Nevertheless, our knowledge of Him today is clearer than those people in the time of the Four Gospels. Our inner state is much brighter than theirs. We have touched the Lord inwardly.

What does the Holy Spirit do on earth today? He communicates the risen Christ to men. If anyone should say he knows the Holy Spirit but not resurrection we will answer that this is impossible. For today this Christ transcends all space, time, death, and every limitation. The Holy Spirit is that Spirit who has raised the Lord Jesus from the dead. The power of the Holy Spirit is therefore the power of resurrection. Wherever the work of the Holy Spirit is, there is the manifestation of the power of resurrection. Where the Holy Spirit is, there is resurrection.”